(Miller)
Health
care informatics has been undergoing serious overhaul in the past few
decades. What was first considered a
novelty for information storage has turned into a multibillion dollar industry
that is now being influenced by government.
Health informatics originally started as a way to accurately bill
patients for the procedures that were being done to them, from there lab data
management enabled, and just a few decades later physicians can order tests,
medications, and document on patients from their smartphone. If this seems like a huge leap, it truly
is. The first systems operated with
dummy terminals that all fed into one main server, the capabilities of those
terminals were purely data entry, with the advent of personal computers and the
technology related to those, system development exploded.
With
this development explosion can many new systems that were excellent at
performing singular operations, or even operations for one department. Once there was credible evidence that systems
served a valuable purpose to not only the health care practitioner but also to
the patient government regulation came into place. At first there were general
guidelines that let to innovation, but at a gradual, slow moving pace. Then with the passage of American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) systems requirements and output became tied to
monetary incentives and the industry began a process of unfounded growth and
innovation that is still taking place (Barnes, 2012).
The
main focus of many of the newer innovations are on creating a singular complete
system that feeds all data into one location that can help clinicians better
treat patients and maximize the effectiveness of these systems. One such innovation that has helped to free
up valuable nursing and lab hours are the use of point of care (POC) systems
that can quickly and accurately test patients and report those results directly
into the electronic health record (EHR).
These systems can not only take one time data measurements but also
continually measure patients for things like temperature, pulse, oxygen
saturation, and many more measureable (Lewandrowski, 2011).
This technology allows clinical teams to have a constant real time
picture of the stability of their patients.
With innovations like POC testing happening seemingly every day it is a
very exciting time in the world of health care informatics.
References:
Barnes, J.
(2012). Let the evolution begin. Health Management Technology, 33(6),
24-24. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/1023310862?accountid=32521
Lewandrowski, K.,
Gregory, K., & Macmillan, D. (2011). Assuring quality in point-of-care testing:
Evolution of technologies,
informatics, and program management. Archives of Pathology & Laboratory Medicine, 135(11),
1405-14. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/993887244?accountid=32521
Miller, F. M. (n.d.). Evolutionary development and
transformation. Retrieved from http://www.healthfuturesexchange.com/evodevo.html
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